Spherical Ball Race Coupler Butt Eliminates Draft Gears
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing railway car couplers with draft gears are heavy and costly due to their complex design and require multiple components, leading to increased weight and operational expenses.
Innovation Solution
A slackless coupler assembly employing a spherical ball and race assembly within its butt, eliminating the need for draft gears by using a telescoping spring for coupler knuckle maintenance and locking wedges for rotational movement, reducing weight and cost while enabling rotational flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If draft gear assembly is used in coupler, then shock-loading absorption capability is improved, but weight and unit cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the draft gear assembly from the coupler system, retaining only the essential spherical ball and race components. This removal of the heavy draft gear while maintaining the core coupling functionality directly resolves the contradiction by reducing weight without completely sacrificing shock absorption, as the spherical mechanism provides inherent load accommodation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the expensive, complex draft gear assembly with a simpler, more economical spherical ball and race mechanism. This substitution uses fewer materials and simpler construction, achieving the necessary functionality at lower cost and weight, effectively trading the heavy draft gear for a lighter, more efficient alternative.
2Reliability
If draft gear assembly is used in coupler, then shock-loading absorption capability is improved, but unit cost increases due to design complexity and component quantity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex draft gear assembly from the coupler design, extracting only the essential spherical ball and race components needed for coupling functionality. This extraction eliminates unnecessary complexity while retaining the core ability to absorb shocks and accommodate movements through the spherical mechanism's inherent design.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges multiple functions into the spherical ball and race assembly, which simultaneously provides coupling, shock absorption, and movement accommodation that were previously distributed across multiple draft gear components. This consolidation reduces the number of parts and simplifies the overall design while maintaining reliability.
3Weight of moving object
If spherical ball and race assembly is used to eliminate draft gear, then weight and cost are reduced, but ability to accommodate longitudinal and vertical travel may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a spherical ball within a race assembly, utilizing the spherical geometry to accommodate movements in multiple directions. The spherical shape inherently allows for longitudinal, vertical, and lateral travel through rotational and translational motion, maintaining adaptability while eliminating the need for heavy draft gear components.
Solution Approach 2:
The spherical ball and race assembly provides dynamic movement capability, allowing the coupler to adapt to various travel directions and absorb shocks through controlled motion. This dynamic mechanism replaces the static or limited-movement draft gear, maintaining versatility while reducing weight through a more efficient design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution reduces the weight and cost of railway cars by eliminating draft gears, allowing for efficient longitudinal, vertical, and lateral movement, while maintaining the coupler knuckle in a vertical position, thus enhancing operational efficiency and reducing fuel costs.
Implementation Method 1
a spherical ball member having a substantially spherical shape and a race member to enable rotational movement of the ball member with respect to the race member
Implementation Method 2
Coupler bias means being a telescoping spring are further provided for maintaining the coupler knuckle in a substantially vertical direction
Implementation Method 3
Locking wedges engaging the shaft members horizontally disposed on either side of the spherical ball member are used to prevent movement of such shaft members
Data Source
AI summary
A slackless coupler assembly having a ball and race assembly provided in the coupler butt. The ball and race assembly comprises a ball member having a substantially spherical shape and a one piece race member which is formed integrally with at least a portion of the ball member in a manner so as to enable rotational movement of the ball member with respect to the one piece race member. The outer surface of the one piece race member has a shape which is capable of being placed within an aperture of a male connection member so as to enable rotational movement of the male connection member with respect to a female connection member. A telescoping spring is provided to maintain the coupler knuckle in a substantially vertical direction. A slackless coupler assembly of the present invention eliminates the need for expensive draft gears.